I heard about this book in 2020 from Books by the Cup, and it has languished on my TBR shelf since then. But I had a long flight and decided that it was time to read this… and I found myself finishing this a lot faster than expected!

Jezebel’s Daughter is essentially a study in strong women personalities. There is the “Jezebel” of the title – Madame Fontaine, who loves her daughter (her one redeeming feature) and is determined to charm and perhaps do a little more than that to help her daughter marry the rich young man that she loves. Standing in her way is the father of the young man, Mr Keller. On the other side (if a bit inadvertently) is the widow Mrs Wagner, who has the ‘radical’ idea that you can help people who are mentally ill by treating them with kindness and whose actions promise to upend all that Madame Fontaine has planned.

Watching and narrating most of the book is David Glenney, the nephew of Mrs Wagner who wavers between trust and mistrust of Madame Fontaine. At points, I felt that David Glenney was TOO trusting – there are actually many signs that Madame Fontaine was up to no good, and it took a lot of effort for David to keep himself blinded to the truth. But if David actually spoke up about his suspicions, it’s entirely possible that the book might have been cut in half.

And as you might be able to guess from that, the plot of the book isn’t the best. I felt that things were, in general, telegraphed very heavily and it was easy to guess what Madame Fontaine was up to. But despite that, Collins managed to keep things fun; reading about the machinations of Madame Fontaine is similar to reading about Lady Susan, Austen’s anti-heroine and this book was similarly fun.

I remember really enjoying The Woman in White, perhaps Collin’s more famous work, and I also find a lot to like in Jezebel’s Daughter. While the plot isn’t the strongest, it’s very fun and I really enjoyed all the characters. This book has made me want to dig up The Moonstone again, and think I will actually do so! (I may also reread The Woman in White, given how much I enjoyed it before).

Featured Image: Background from Canva